If you missed the World Series last night—and I did—you missed President Donald Trump getting lustily and gleefully booed by the crowd, who also had a take on a familiar chant.
In his first appearance at a Major League Baseball game since taking office, Mr. Trump was not invited to throw the first pitch when he showed up Sunday night at Game 5 between the Washington Nationals and the Houston Astros. Instead, when he was shown on the stadium’s large screen, the crowd booed robustly and began chanting, “Lock him up!” In the upper decks, fans held up a giant “Impeach Trump!” banner.
Here’s footage:
WATCH: President Trump met with loud boos as he is introduced at the World Series in Nationals Park on Sunday night. pic.twitter.com/4RTW8ZqxqP
— NBC News (@NBCNews) October 28, 2019
I hope you’ll click the link, because it is delightful to watch. Almost as delightful as the sullen ten second silence on the other end of the phone in Marsha Blackburn’s D.C. office when I called and asked “Why was the president booed at the baseball game?” Mr. Gloomypants told me “I don’t know,” so I offered some suggestions: perhaps it was Deep State Night at the ball game, or perhaps the stadium was filled with liberals. If you have a Republican congressman or Senator, I DO encourage you to google their office phone and give them a call.
On a more serious note, please call Delaware Democrat Chris Coons and tell him his concerns about people yelling “lock him up” at Trump are overblown and wholly inappropriate for the moment.
“Well, forgive me, I’m enough of a sort of traditionalist about our institutions that even at a time when there is a lot that our president does that I find disturbing, offensive, unconventional, I have a hard time with the idea of a crowd on a globally televised sporting event chanting ‘lock him up’ about our president,” Coons said in an appearance on CNN’s “New Day.”
“I frankly think the office of the president deserves respect, even when the actions of our president don’t,” Coons added.
I respect where Coons is coming from, but he is wrong in this instance, and for a few reasons. As for the boos, I agree that the office of the president should be respected. But this president has so disrespected the office as to make a mockery of it. He has used the office to enrich himself and his family. He has used it to prosecute his personal vendettas. He has used it to vilify his political opponents. Before this is all over, we may well find out he carried out openly corrupt, self-enriching activities in the Oval Office itself, acts so profane they’ll make Bill Clinton’s blow job look like a walk in the park. Perhaps Coons might consider that the people booing last night weren’t booing the presidency, but the cuckoo that has taken the office or himself.
As for the chants of “lock him up,” there is a similar rebuttal to be made to the well-meaning Senator and his sense of civility: it was Mr. Trump who encouraged these chants to begin with. This is the Golden Rule in action: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Perhaps it is disconcerting to see the president catcalled, but he brought it on himself and has done so since day one.
Finally, Coon is utterly wrong on the optics. Since the election, Trump has been able to keep himself afloat with his base by telling them that any negative stories about him and his presidency were “fake news,” made up by the media and its Democratic allies who are jealous and only want to bring him down.
Last night was a REAL “the emperor has no clothes” moment. The sheer hatred that Americans feel for Trump and his abuse of his office was on display for all to see. It was not fake news: it was live on TV. Thousands of people booing and screaming insults at one of the worst presidents in history (and I lived through George W. Bush).
So watch the video. Call your congresspeople and Senators. Tell them how much you loved seeing it, that you agreed with the people yelling at him, that it’s high time someone spoke out and “why haven’t you?”
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My congresscritter is Ilhan Omar so I dont actually need to ask.
Mine are Lamar and Marsha. Jim Cooper is my Rep. I called the latter two to mock them, and called the former to tell his office all about it, and to remind them that they did the right thing by backing impeachment.
“…I’m enough of a sort of traditionalist about our institutions that even at a time when there is a lot that our president does that I find disturbing, offensive, unconventional…”
I’m sorry, but Trump has been more than “disturbing, offensive, and unconventional.” That sounds like someone who is just “different” and not the law-breaking national security threat that Trump is. He has clearly violated the Constitution, several times. He has sided with our adversaries on many occasions, divulged classified information, and has openly abused his office to enrich himself and his family while thumbing his nose at not just the law but also everyone who is not a sycophantic supporter. All while displaying the kind of personal attributes — a liar, braggart and bully which are traits most people don’t like in anyone.
It’s bad enough people have been forced to deal with this 24/7 for the last three years, with at least another year to go. But is Coons saying voters forced to have to deal with this at a baseball game, a place where people are in part to get away from all Trump’s foolishness, and those who enable him in it, only to have it shoved in their faces there, should not express their displeasure? Or what, should they just silently wave white hankies?
Excellent job throwing (your) Dems and sane independents under the bus, Senator Clueless (D-Del). When do the Repubs ever do this to their voters? Um, never, that’s when. As for the corporate media and Broderite Talking Heads, did they ever display this level of horrified scolding at ANY of Trumper’s (ongoing) Nuremberg rallies, as he leads his Deplorables in the “Lock Her Up” refrain and others from the Stable Genius’s Parade of Favorites? (rhetorical)
Senator Clueless tells us “the office of the President deserves respect”. So what is the appropriate means for the Ordinary Joe to express, um, shall we say, displeasure, oh sage moral scold Coons? It sure seems like a nice set-up for a criminal prez, eh? “Respect the office, if not the man” is a nice distinction, especially for scoundrels and rogues: the “office” deserves respect, so the [criminal prez] receives it? A real can’t-miss idea for a democracy! That Der Trumper (and imbecile Mulvaney) are also so clueless that they imagine Dear Bumbler WON’T receive a raucous chorus of boos (in DC!) when he is the most consistently disliked prez in history is also hysterical. But wait, I’m sensing a theme!
This whole concept of “respect” arises out of monarchism, with its “divine rights” horseshit . Do citizens of a parliamentary democracy hear the same pious slogan about the “office” of the PM? The Framers instituted the presidency as some sort of King-lite, thinking we needed an office of national executive. One could perhaps see some utility in keeping one’s tongue in a nation of two political parties, as long as each was willing to accept the democratic legitimacy of each other’s winning prez candidate. But with the blind “conservative” hatred of every Dem prez since 1992 (“You Lie!”), Newt Turdrich’s and Boss Rushbo’s decision to drag the nation into hyper-partisanship in 1994, and the “conservative” celebration of the (democratically illegitimate) electoral college as their only route to “victory” (2000-present), that convention no longer holds water, and we aren’t going to bow our heads to the worst electoral college prez in history, one who is an obvious criminal to boot. Hence the DC crowd’s” Lock him up!” chant is hardly delusional (or unfounded).
You want serf-like “respect for the office”, dear “conservatives”, TV Broderites and Clueless Dem senators? Repubs could start by at least trying to win (let alone actually winning) the fucking popular vote, so at a minimum you can claim democratic legitimacy! Because (for the non-clueless) hiding behind the sclerotic legalism of a failed 18th Century constitution in no longer sufficient for commanding “respect”—especially when “conservatives” have gone to that well once too often. Also, too, it might help not to nominate woefully unqualified conmen with severe personality disorders, who then publicly confess to abuse(s) of office and openly flout duly enacted laws. Just a slight hint for these oh so troubled times, where “disrespect of the office!” is truly the greatest challenge facing the nation….
The boos were done at the direction of the pay back lady. Last night she took off her dress and put baseball stuff on.
It just amazes me that Coons comes at this from the seeming perspective that Donald Trump is simply nothing more than a President who is just somewhere slightly off the center of what we would consider the “normal” historical Presidential spectrum. He seems to want to legitimize the man. What the fuck? The ship of “traditionalism” has sailed, at least for the foreseeable future. Traditionalism cannot be embraced again until we have our own “truth and reconciliation” moment as a country.
Describing the man in the Oval Office as simply “unconventional” borders on delusional. Where has Coons been for the last 4 years?
That Trump is only “unconventional” fits in with the delusional centrist premise that the GOP will be just fine and work with us to pass “democratic” legislation once Trump is removed. Its a dangerous premise that doesn’t lend itself to justifying removal of Trump for crimes, incompetence and as a national security threat, e.g. he did’t commit crimes, isn’t incompetent, doesn’t sell out the country; he’s just “different.” Trump’s GOP defenders have already latched onto that as the underlying premise for their pushback against impeachment. Coons and others on the democratic side that push this absurd view in the name of “tradition” enable Trump/GOP sycophants in the worse way and undermine impeachment efforts.